Microsoft starts selling another Surface Go variant for $499

When Microsoft introduced its Surface Go tablet family earlier this year, it was offering two options: 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of eMMC storage starting at $399 and 8 GB of RAM with 128 GB of SSD storage starting at $549.

Last week, however, the company quietly added a third option to the 10.1-inch, Pentium-Gold-based Surface Go line-up, as noted by Neowin.

Also: Windows 10: A cheat sheet TechRepublic

Microsoft is now selling a 4 GB of RAM/128 GB of storage model starting at $499. Yes, as Neowin noted, a 4 GB RAM/128 GB storage Surface Go model already existed, but it was exclusively sold by Costco and came bundled with a plastic Type Cover for a total price of $549.

As Neowin also noted, this new $549 Go model only comes in a consumer flavor, shipping with Windows 10 Home in S Mode.

In case anyone missed this, the Go is currently the only Surface device that ships by default with Windows 10 in S Mode.

When Microsoft introduced the new Surface Laptop 2 in October, I asked Microsoft if that device would ship by default with Windows 10 in S Mode (like the original Surface Laptop did). The official answer from a spokesperson:

"No. We accomplished our goal of introducing Windows 10 in S Mode to a broad audience with the initial launch of Surface Laptop and continue to fulfill this market need with Surface Go."

Maybe Windows 10 in S Mode is on its way to becoming a firstline-worker-only edition of Windows 10? Even though Microsoft officials continue to extol its benefits, such as greater security because it allows users to download Microsoft Store apps only, Windows 10 in S Mode doesn't seem to be winning many converts.

Also: Microsoft's obsession with Windows is ending CNET

(For those who read my Surface Go review and wonder if I ended up keeping the device, I did. But I decided to upgrade from Windows 10 Home in S Mode to Windows 10 Home for free so I could install Chrome. Chrome works better than Edge on this device in my experience.)

Microsoft is still expected to start selling Surface Go models with built-in LTE before the end of calendar 2018. Microsoft officials are working to position Windows PCs with built-in LTE, a k a "Always Connected PCs," as the ultimate business devices.

A brief history of Microsoft's Surface: Missteps and successes

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